Regional Bicycle Advisory Committee Recognizes Local Bicycle Advocates
Roanoke, Va., August 3rd, 2009 – The Regional Bicycle Advisory Committee, organized by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, is excited to announce the first winners of its Bike Hero and Extraordinary Bike Professional awards. The awards, sponsored by RIDE Solutions, honor individuals who have shown extraordinary dedication to improving bicycle accommodations, education, access, and safety in the region. Individuals were nominated throughout this past May’s Bike Month event, and winners were selected by the Bicycle Advisory Committee. The awards and winners are as follows:
Beth Lohman, Bicycle Hero
The Bike Hero Award is awarded to an individual who has shown dedication to the use and advocacy of the bicycle as a transportation alternative in their day-to-day activities, their work in the community to improve bicycle accommodations, and their encouragement through advocacy or by example for others to replace vehicle trips with bicycle trips.
Award winner Beth Lohman is President of the New River Valley Bicycle Association and an employee of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in Roanoke. Beth was nominated for her work forming partnerships to provide bicycle safety education, her efforts to have formal bike routes established within the NRV, and her leadership of the NRVBA. Showing a dedication to her cause, Beth commutes between the Roanoke and New River Valleys each day by bike, riding to the Smart Way stop in Christiansburg, putting her bike on the bus until the Salem park-and-ride stop, and continuing her commute by bike.
Curtis Hicks, Extraordinary Bike Professional
The Extraordinary Bicycle Professional Award is given to an employee in the public or private sector who has shown remarkable leadership in encouraging the use of bicycling as a transportation alternative.
Curtis Hicks, Director of Secondary Education with Salem City Schools and an avid outdoorsman, was instrumental in helping the City of Salem obtain a $10,000 Safe Routes to School grant to improve bicycle and pedestrian accommodations for children riding or walking to school. His hard work to help kids integrate fitness and healthy activities into their daily routine by making bicycling to school a safe option will be recognized when the award is presented to him at the August 13th City of Salem school board meeting.
The Bicycle Advisory Committee appreciates all of the nominations it received and looks forward to continuing the awards as a regular part of Roanoke’s Bike Month.
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